All season, Koji Uehara has been Mr. Automatic for the Red Sox, thanks in large measure to a splitter that seems to disappear on hitters just when they get it in their sights. So, with two out in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the AL Championship Series last night, Uehara set up Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias in a two-strike count, then went to his best pitch.

As usual, it worked.

Uehara mowed down the Tigers on only 11 pitches in the ninth inning, clinching a 5-2 win for the AL pennant and sending the Red Sox to the World Series.

Series MVP? Was there any doubt?

“There was some extra (emotion),” Uehara said. “I knew that I can give up some runs, so I felt a little bit more comfortable.”

But if Uehara looked like a cool customer on the mound, he was anything but.

“To tell you the truth,” he said, “I almost threw up.”

The Red Sox signed Uehara to a one-year, $4.25 contract with a club option for next season that vested after his 55th appearance of the season with little expectation that he would be anything but a set-up reliever.

Needless it to say, it was the bargain of last winter.

Uehara took over as closer in mid-June after Joel Hanrahan was lost for the season to elbow surgery and Andrew Bailey proved ineffective. And including last night, he has a 0.50 ERA, 25 saves in 27 chances and a ridiculous 72-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 49 appearances as the closer.

“It was more of how the team wanted me, their passion to acquire me and the sincerity,” Uehara said of what drew him to the Red Sox. “I felt honored to play for this team.”

Said starter Jon Lester, “It’s been dominating. For him to do it with stuff that you wouldn’t classify as a closer, the guy goes out there and competes. It’s just, like tonight, I think he threw one ball, if that. It’s been an amazing ride to watch him. Hopefully we can keep going with it.”

Now, Uehara gets a chance to pitch in the World Series, something he didn’t get to do in 2011 when he struggled so much in the postseason that the Texas Rangers took him off the roster.

No chance of that happening here.

GOMES IN, NAVA OUT

Daniel Nava batted .303 during the regular season. He had the third-highest on-base plus slugging percentage of all American League outfielders, trailing only Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout and Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista. And in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series, he broke up a no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning.

But somehow, he has become the Red Sox' forgotten man.

Nava wasn't in the lineup for Game 6, marking the fourth time he has taken a seat on the bench during the ALCS. Never mind that he has been the Sox’ primary left fielder against right-handed pitchers or that they were facing another righty, Detroit Tigers ace Max Scherzer.

Manager John Farrell continued to show a preference for playing righty-hitting Jonny Gomes. And it hardly even mattered that Gomes' career numbers against Scherzer (2-for-9) weren't much better than Nava's (1-for-9) or that Gomes was only 4-for-21 (.190) in the postseason compared to Nava's 3-for-11 (.273).

Gomes finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and scored a run.

"It's been very difficult because he's a good hitter," Farrell said of Nava. "He's been an important part of this team throughout the course of the year. It's not easy to leave that left-handed bat out of the lineup."

But Farrell has pointed to Gomes' intangibles, specifically his instincts on the bases and in the outfield, as reasons to keep him in the lineup. Gomes scored from second base on an infield hit in Game 1 of the Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, reached on an infield single before scoring the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the ALCS, and set a positive tone by throwing out hobbled Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera at the plate in the first inning of Game 5.

And although it may have been only a coincidence, the Red Sox are 6-0 in the postseason with Gomes in the lineup, 1-3 with Nava.

"We're at a time of year where I mentioned the environment is different, and that's not to say that (Nava) doesn't perform in this environment," Farrell said. "It's just, we have a different feel and a different personality on the field when Jonny is in the lineup. Call that a hunch. Call it whatever you might. That's what it boils down to."

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE

After taking a lead on Victor Martinez’ two-run single in the sixth inning, the Tigers had a chance to break open the game.

But bad baserunning and strong defense by the Red Sox conspired against them.

Standing on third base with one out, Prince Fielder inexplicably tried to score on a grounder to second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who calmly tagged Martinez, then threw to home plate. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia chased Fielder back to third, and as the hefty slugger dove to the bag, somersaulted over him and tagged him out.

Pedroia nearly homered in the third inning, but his long drive down the left-field line was narrowly foul. The umpires reviewed the play and confirmed their initial call. …

With two stolen bases in Game 5, Jacoby Ellsbury raised his playoff total to six and broke Johnny Damon’s club record for steals in a single postseason. But Ellsbury was caught stealing in the fifth inning of Game 6. …

First baseman Mike Napoli entered last night with two homers in the ALCS, marking the third time in his career that he has gone deep twice in one postseason series.

POWER OUTAGE

Despite being built on power, the Tigers didn’t hit a homer in the final four games of the series. It marked the first time Detroit went homerless in four consecutive postseason games since the 1935 World Series against the Cubs.

In particular, the Tigers got nothing from Fielder, who went only 4-for-22 (.182) with one double and no RBI. Fielder hasn’t driven in a run in 18 consecutive postseason games dating to Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS.

PROTECTING CATCHERS

Two nights after Tigers catcher Alex Avila strained his left knee on a collision at home plate — ironically, with Red Sox catcher David Ross — Farrell said he's in favor of rules changes that would help protect catchers, who are at risk of serious injury in such situations.

"I've always tended to be on the side of tradition, but guys are kind of an exposed target," Farrell said. "I think a lot of the injuries can be avoided that do take place. How that ultimately is done remains to be seen, but I think anything we can do to protect the well-being of a player is a good thing."

Avila and Ross have both suffered concussions this season, although in Ross' case, the injuries occurred when he took foul tips off the mask. Nevertheless, given the opportunity to score a run in Game 5, Ross didn't hesitate to run over Avila, who held the ball after tagging out Ross.

"I just told him, 'Hey, man, you didn't give me a choice,'" Ross said. "Going hard. He understood, I think. We both actually just talked the other day about our concussions. I know what he's been through, and he knows what I've been through. It's one of those things. Once I step on that field, I'm not worried about getting inured. If you play scared or not trying to get hurt, you're probably going to get hurt."